Samsung‘s Galaxy S27 processor plans are turning into a rather confusing affair. Earlier reports suggested the company was preparing to bring Exynos back to its Ultra flagship, and the Exynos 2700 even managed to beat Qualcomm’s best chip in alleged internal tests. But it appears Samsung might have other plans, at least for customers in its home market.
According to Korean tipster Lanzuk, also known as yeux1122, Samsung is reportedly sticking with Snapdragon for the Galaxy S27 Ultra in South Korea. In a Naver post, the tipster claims that changing the processor choice at this stage would be difficult. The reason? Money, apparently. Samsung is said to be focusing heavily on cutting costs during hardware development.
What happened to Samsung’s Exynos plans?
The tipster hasn’t specified which Snapdragon processor will power the Korean Ultra. Previous leaks, however, suggest Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 for the Ultra and the regular Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 for the upcoming S27 Pro.
Earlier this year, Samsung was reportedly developing Exynos 2700 motherboards for the Ultra. The chip even entered volume production, while the addition of the Pro model was expected to increase demand. An Exynos-powered Ultra would’ve also marked the processor’s return to Samsung’s most expensive Galaxy S phone since 2022.
But wasn’t Exynos supposed to be faster?
That’s where things get interesting. Previous internal benchmark claims showed Exynos 2700 outperforming Qualcomm’s Extreme chip by roughly 20% in multi-core tests. There were also reports of the Snapdragon processor running too hot, although Qualcomm dismissed those allegations.
Unfortunately, the latest leak doesn’t explain how choosing Snapdragon would help Samsung cut costs. The tipster also recommends buying a high-storage Galaxy S27 Pro, without going into much detail.
As for the standard Galaxy S27 and S27+, Exynos 2700 is still expected in most markets. The Galaxy S27 series is expected in January or February, so there’s still some room for another surprise. But most hardware should be locked in soon for mass production.